National study: Connecticut fourth-worst state for business

CNBC’s annual assessment of “America’s Top States for Business” ranked Connecticut the fourth-worst state for business, according to a Connecticut Business & Industry Association press release distributed Wednesday.

The state’s status dropped one position from 45th one year ago.

Among the factors contributing to Connecticut’s bottom-four ranking, the cable financial network said the state has the fourth-highest cost of doing business, the third-highest cost of living and the second-worst economy in the nation.

CBIA president and CEO John Rathgeber said changes will need to be made if the CBIA is to reach a self-designed goal to move Connecticut among the nation’s top-20 states for business by 2017.

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“Unfortunately, these rankings reinforce the perception that Connecticut is not a good place to do business,” Rathgeber said, according to the release. “It’s critical that we address those areas that are hampering economic growth, particularly the high cost of doing business, taxes, government red tape, and our aging transportation infrastructure.”

Rathgeber also noted that the CNBC study was conducted using data that did not reflect recent state progress in areas such as job growth, initiatives to reduce energy costs and regulatory reforms, adding that a newly designed commision scheduled to start reviewing Connecticut’s tax structure later this year presents a true opportunity for improvement, according to the CBIA release.

The CNBC study, which scored all 50 states on 56 variables using input from business groups, economic experts, businesses and the states themselves, ranked Georgia, Texas, Utah, Nebraska and North Carolina the nation’s top-five states for business.